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Death of the sys admin...

I think not...

February 3, 2009 (Computerworld) Microsoft Corp. has ramped up a new Windows support assistant nearly three months after it quietly released the automatic repair and configuration tool.

Dubbed "Fix it for me," the tool is an adjunct to some of the support documents that Microsoft posts to its Knowledge Base (KB), the company's online collection of hot fix guidelines and trouble-shooting instructions. Those KB documents that include the automated support boast a button labeled "Fix it."

"Have you ever come across a Microsoft Knowledge Base article or been presented with a Windows Error Reporting solution and asked yourself, 'Why can't Microsoft just fix this for me?'" the "Fix it for me" blog reads. "Today, KB articles and WER solutions provide you with a list of steps that can be followed to resolve your issue," the post continued. "Our team's purpose is to automate the steps ... so you can click a button and have the issue resolved."

The blog also listed some of the Knowledge Base documents that boast a "Fix it" button, including one that prevents users from connecting a USB storage device -- useful in protecting against one of the infection vectors of the "Downadup" worm.

While the team posted just four "Fix it"-enabled documents in November and December 2008, it added 78 in January 2009, more than 30 of them last week alone.

Each "Fix it" is a separate, small download of a Windows installer package that when run, automates the manual steps spelled out in the appropriate KB document.

In a post last month to a message forum on the "WinVistaClub" Web site, someone who identified himself only as "Paul" and said he was part of the "Fix it" team at Microsoft encouraged users to send feedback on the feature to the group at the fixit4me@microsoft.com e-mail address.

...Just another p.o.s. MS software package to shoot/repair.

I wonder how long it will take for a "Fix it" to be released to fix "Fix it".

How many times do you have an error in the eventlo g and you click on that more info button...which takes you to the MS KB...and they have no info on it. They dont even know what the error means

And do we want to willy nilly add "hot fixes" to production servers......with that clause

. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

and some hot fixes cannot be uninstalled.

thank you Microsoft....I just cant wait for my phone to start ringing when some user that "knows" computers starts trying to fix things.....without firstly understanding how it may affect 3rd party applications and services.

more $$$$$$$$ 4 moi

MLF

How people treat you is their karma- how you react is yours-Wayne Dyer

"A new bit of malware has inundated the Internet and is causing global havoc. According to [insert av - security company name] the Fubar.A virus uses the winfxor.dll as a hook into the popular "Fix iT' tool installed on all Microsoft O.S.

This malware actually fools the Fix It tool into believing that core system files are corupt and need to be immediately deleted. Since no user intervention is needed, everything from virtual enterprises to home PC's across the globe are destroying their own operating systems".